So, here you are, traveling through your entrepreneurial journey.  The wind is at your back.  You founded your company on a great idea, and things have been going well.  Revenue is increasing year over year, and you are finally able to draw a salary from the business.   But cracks are starting to show.  The way you were operating last year doesn’t seem to be working anymore.  What few systems if any that you have put in place are starting to fail.  The way you’ve been doing things isn’t keeping up with your needs now. You didn’t realize what this sort of growth would do to your business, much less to you personally, and you really don’t have time to deal with the problems.

 You are working harder and longer hours to keep up.  You still think you can “have it all”.  Your hamster wheel is at full speed.  Employee turnover is taking its toll on you and the other faithful staff.  You are stepping in and filling roles as people quit.  The number of hats you are wearing are stacked so far on top of your head you’ve lost count.  Wasn’t this the dream? Isn’t this what you wanted?  Why are you so tired, why is your family not happy with you, why can’t you give 100% to anything anymore???  Sound familiar?  

This is the classic entrepreneurial conundrum.  Early success gives way to the first set of business cramps.  I mean serious cramps!   How do you hit the pause button, and maybe even the reset button?  If you do opt for a reset, what does that look like?  

This scenario is top of mind because it is so common. Just today, I was in a coaching session with a business owner who was verbalizing this exact scenario.  She and her partner have grown exponentially over the last year and are adding staff and planning on more growth this year, but major cracks are starting to show in their operations.   This year looks very different from last.  Intuitively she knew that she and her partner needed to hit a serious pause button and do a reset.  But she wasn’t sure on the next steps they should take to turn their obstacles into opportunities.   As we shared a great back and forth about next steps to strongly consider, we decided on the following: 

  • She and her business partner would begin a journey of discerning who they are as people and what they want, both personally and from their business. 
  • Each partner will draft a personal statement outlining their life’s aim or purpose.
  • They will share their documents with one another. 
  • Once this is done, they will work together to draft a purpose document for their company.
  • They will take a deep dive into learning more about themselves and how “who they are” effects their personal and business relationships, and their ability to scale their business.
  • They, along with each key staff member, will take a behavioral assessment and I will  debrief the group on the results.

This behavioral assessment and debrief provides a wealth of information to the client that is specific and actionable as it relates to positive changes that can be made to maximize your effectiveness as a leader.  Using the information in the reports helps you scale your business while making sure that you have the right people in the right seats on the bus.  Behavioral assessments help give answers to the following important questions:

  • Who are you?
  • What is your purpose at this stage in your life?
  • Where are you going and how will you get there?
  • What is holding you back from accomplishing your life’s aim?
  • Are there any past traumas that are impacting your ability to move in a positive direction?
  • What positive steps can you take to turn your obstacles into opportunities?

What is the return on investment when a business owner and or your key team members complete the assessment and debrief process? 

  1. You can make more informed choices about setting a new direction based upon understanding your greatest strengths.  
  2. You can embrace your strongest abilities which allows you to align the time you spend on revenue generating actions with those activities that most closely match your natural gifts and strengths.
  3. You should delegate to others key tasks that are not a match with your unique strengths and talents.
  4. When you faithfully follow these steps, you will see increased revenue and decreased frustration as you play to your strongest abilities and allow others to do the same.  
  5. Having a sounding board such as a coach or other trusted advisor is key in being accountable to staying on your charted course, achieving your goals, and accomplishing your dreams

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said that “knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”.  

YOU are your company’s biggest asset!  To maximize your contribution to your business you must understand who you are, so you can learn to maximize your value and your time to preserve the health and well-being of your business.

Before you consider scaling you must build a firm foundation that includes thoughtful planning, adequate funding, placement of the right systems, processes, technology, and vendor partners.  

Your business should be set up so that it serves your life, not the other way around.  Your highest and best use is to do three to four primary tasks in your business that best match your strengths and talents and delegate the rest to others who have different strengths than you. To set this in motion and reap the full benefits from your business, you must know who you are.  Understanding who we are is key in purposefully charting the course of our lives.  The alternative is allowing our lives to haphazardly wander on and off course with little regard for true direction and meaning.  Knowing who we are illuminates us as individuals to understand our baseline, our natural makeup.  It enriches our personal relationships with spouses, children, and friends.  This deeper knowledge positively impacts our business relationships as we navigate working with those we are charged with leading and those trusted advisors who help us to be better leaders. Understanding ourselves better empowers how we lead others through daunting challenges and how we can position ourselves to capitalize on new and exciting opportunities while scaling our companies and propelling growth.